Disguises
by AnimeFreaks13
Summary: Kurama meets a girl. What is she hiding? Why? And why is she contradicting her own beliefs? KxOC
1. Fateful Meeting And A Spaghetti Dinner

**Disguises**

**This is one of the stories I started a while back. Most of the chapters have really long titles. This story is basically based on the song Clowns by t.A.T.u.**

**Disclaimer : I do not own YuYuHakusho or t.A.T.u.****  
Chapter 1 - Fateful meeting and a spaghetti dinner**

Kurama was walking along the street, thinking about life, sorrow, and his past life. Meanwhile, a boy with dirty blonde hair, wearing a baseball cap, red and white jacket, red boots with white fluff, and black pants was window shopping.

It was winter time, and everyone was busy preparing for Christmas. Spending money on items that would either be eaten, broken, or forgotten within hours of opening. The boy scoffed as snow began to pour down once again. All of a sudden he ran into something bigger than he was. "Ow." came the words from his mouth along with the mouth of whomever he'd bumped into.

He looked up to see a teen-age boy, who looked just older than he, wearing deep red shirt, jacket, pants, shoes, and gloves. He wore no hat and his red hair was covering the ground now. The red head stood up, then held out a hand for the boy. He pushed it away.

"I don't need help from you. Besides, shouldn't you be busy shopping for gifts?" he snapped. Kurama stared back at him in surprise, then his gaze softened.

"The gifts which I shall give to my close friends and my mother have already been taken care of, in fact, I made them myself. I'm sorry for bumping into you." He apologized. The boy scoffed again.

"You should be. Pay attention to where you're going next time you idiot." he snapped before continuing to walk. Kurama would've said, 'you should watch where you walk too' but held it in and let the boy leave. The snow picked up so Kurama went home.

— — —  
At his house Kurama looked in a box under his bed. Inside were things for his friends. For Hiei, a black headband made of the same material as Youko's outfit. For Yusuke, a jacket that looked like leather which read Yusuke Urameshi in small letters on the front left hand side and Urameshi in large letters on the back. Though it didn't seem so, Kurama had made this himself. For Kuwabara, a new 'headband of love' (he heard about the headband during the Yukina mission) and the newest video game. This was probably the only thing he had bought.

For his mother he had to go to the window, where the sun was barely shining. A small rose was planted in a pot on the window sill. It was cold, so this flower had turned blue-ish purple before it even bloomed. Kurama kept it alive for the moment with his energy, but once it was fully grown it would be able to survive without it. Now for the girls' presents.

Keiko, a ribbon for her hair, Botan, a real microphone and recording system so she could record her spying times, Shizuru(sp?), a note saying she should stop smoking and a new wallet, and for Puu (yea, he's not a girl, but he basically lives with Keiko ), some of his favorite foods. These things he had bought too, but he didn't think to much about it.

He hid them again and went to bed. But before he fell asleep, his mind was troubled with thoughts of the boy. He seemed, troubled, different from the people around them. Unable to figure out what the answer was, Kurama fell into troubled dreams.

— — —  
The boy was walking down a dark street. Only street lamps lit the way down the sidewalk. A black car with tinted windows sped down the road, running through a large pile of snow as it drove. The snow melted when the wheel hit it.

It seemed that the snow was melting on everything it touched and the world was all hazy and misty. The boy kept his hands in his pockets, he wasn't wearing gloves. 'I should get some...' He stared at the ground.

'Something about that red head guy...he seems different from the other people that were around us. I had a clip of thoughts of the meaning of life...Weird...' he thought. The voice in his head wasn't much different from his own, but was a little bit more like that of a girl, just barely.

He walked down the street and into a dimly lit house. Now his inner voice was his real voice. "I'm home." he called. 2 canines ran up to him. One was a male gray fox, it was the smaller one, and the youngest. The other was a female red fox, livelier, bigger, and the older one.

"Glad you two are ok, what do you guys...sorry, guy and girl," he corrected after a look from the red fox. "want for dinner?" He looked at them, nodded, and then proceeded to the kitchen, where he made spaghetti, no sauce. On his he put butter, on the red one's he put what looked like a mouse in the center, and the gray one got egg spread over the top. "Just how you two like it." he smiled.

They looked up at him with gratitude on their faces, then began to eat. "Hey, Jasmine." the red one looked up at him while finishing quickly and eating the mouse. "Can fox turn into human?" after a pause he shook his head. "I don't know. It never occurred to me that it was possible. And I didn't think of it until I got home and saw you. But...I met this guy-" he was interrupted by yips and once he calmed them down, he continued. "Well, he had red hair, and when I got home, you reminded me of him."

'Well, you're probably imagining it, but don't throw out the idea. Anything is possible. I mean, red fox aren't supposed to be able to climb trees, but you got Jasmine to do it.' came a voice like that of a 10 year old acting much older but still with a childish side.

'Shut up you mini coyote! Just because I can learn stuff my type isn't supposed to doesn't mean a thing.' the red fox, Jasmine, hissed at the gray fox.

"Guys!" The boy yelled. The foxes flinched and looked at him. "Calm down. Buster stop picking on her. You'll be bigger than Jasmine when you grow up so stop it." the gray fox backed off, defeated. "And Jasmine." He turned to the red fox, who now looked to proud for her own good. "Don't get a swelled head. He is the one who helped to teach you to climb trees, so start to respect him. Even if you are going to be larger than most red foxes, you'll probably still be smaller than him when you're fully grown." The red fox hissed softly and back away from Buster. "Now, bed!" he commanded. They raced off, Jasmine giving him a questioning look before following Buster upstairs to their room.

The boy (still anonymous) then sighed and followed them upstairs. The house he owned was small, no one really noticed it was there most times. As he walked upstairs it seemed that the light turned his hair from dirty blonde to shimmering black before his back disappeared up the stairs.

**How's that? Should I continue it? Please tell me in a review!**

**-Jessica-**


	2. Another Meeting Which Brings Up Question...

**Disguises**

**I only got 1 review.**

**AekaAnime - I like the song too. These chapters are short. The whole story has already been written to tell the truth. Only expect 9 chapters...cause that's all there is. Anyways, I like what I put at the bottom of this chapter. -smile-**

**  
Chapter 2 - Another meeting which brings up questions **

Kurama woke up the next day with a clear and rested head, ready for the day. He didn't remember the strange boy from the street, or his questions about the boy from the night before. He decided to go outside today and maybe build a snowman so that their house had some decoration on it.

He looked out the window, covered in frost and playful designs as if a very small finger had been playing in the snow. He could barely see out of it and when he opened it he immediately closed it for a ice cold breeze had swept in and through his shirt to his bare skin.

Kurama sneezed after closing the window. "Well, I learned my lesson. Do not open the windows unless you are dressed for the occasion." he laughed. Then his mother called him and he went down for a warm breakfast.

"Good-Morning Shuichi." Shiori greeted. "I made oatmeal for breakfast. It's cold outside so don't go out without first putting on the clothing I've set by the door." She pointed. There was a warm looking red shirt, red sweater with a smiley design, and a red jacket with a picture of the head of a white wolf on the shoulders. Kurama sweat dropped as he looked down and saw red pants that looked like snowboarding pants and large, thick boots with thick socks next to them. He like the red and black gloves though. "Um...thanks mother..." she smiled at him and after he finished breakfast Kurama changed into the clothing his mother gave him and left.

— — —

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed when they saw him. "What's wrong Kurama? Afraid you're gonna get sick from a little cold? Come on! Look at us!" Yusuke and Kuwabara were wearing jackets that looked like sweaters without holes, and jeans with sneakers.

"You all look like idiots." Hiei said. "Kurama for wearing to much clothing, even in this weather. And you two idiots because you're not wearing enough clothing in this weather." Hiei was wearing his usual attire and a blue scarf.

"Oh yea? Look at you! You're wearing less warm clothing than us!" Yusuke yelled.

"The cold doesn't bother me..." Hiei said in a voice that suggested he was off in his own world. Yusuke and Kuwabara sweat-dropped, Kurama suspected that Hiei was now thinking about Yukina and left it at that.

They spent the day in the park, where most people were avoiding due to the temperature. Yusuke and Kuwabara were having a snowball fight, Hiei was sitting under a tree in a shallow hole in the snow that he had dug and Kurama sat on a bench that had icicles hanging from it.

"Doesn't that bother you fox?" Hiei asked, poking his head out from his hole.

"All this warm clothing keeps out the cold. I don't even feel it." Kurama answered. Indeed, he looked as if he were sitting on the beach in Hawaii. Hiei glared at him and ducked back into his hole.

Kurama smiled and turned his head. He saw a girl with short/medium brown hair wearing a warm looking brown jacket with white ruffles at the end, long warm looking pants, and small black boots. She had no gloves on and was reading a book. Kurama looked closer and saw brown eyes that looked distant and that the book was about fox mythology. 'Fox Mythology...' Kurama thought.

The girl's head popped up. She looked around, Kurama returned to looking at the sky and the girl got up and left. "Strange." Kurama said softly.

"What's strange Kurama?" Yusuke asked. Him and Kuwabara looked like snowmen, Hiei had Kuwabara by the neck and was threatening to strangle him. Seemed Kuwabara had hit him in the head with a snowball. Kurama looked at Yusuke.

"That cloud up there looks like your hand when you use your spirit gun." he said, pointing. The other three looked up and saw that there was a cloud shaped like a pointer finger with a large blast looking cloud coming from it. 'Coincidence...' thought Kurama. They bought it and Yusuke smiled wide.

"Looks like I'm popular with the clouds." he sniggered. Kurama sweat dropped.

"Yes...because that's all your head is filled with." Hiei scoffed, punching Kuwabara once more before dropping him to the ground. They began to fight.

Soon after, Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to start coming down with colds and so they left. Kurama headed home, passed all the noisy stores and large crowds.

He was walking, thinking more about the book she was reading than the girl herself, when a boy with bright red hair barely missed hitting him. In one swift motion they neared, the boy turned slightly as if he were water, and flowed passed, glancing back at what appeared to be Kurama's strange hair. Kurama glanced back to see the boy disappear with the crowd.

Kurama thought no more of it. Nothing special had happened, all that was strange about that boy was his hair, it looked like fire. So Kurama walked home, and once inside stripped off the sweater, jacket, and shirt, to reveal a thinner shirt underneath. He took off his boots and walked around in his socks. He took off his gloves and set them on the table.

"Mother! I'm home!" He looked around "Mother?" a note was on the table. "Dear Suichi, I've gone shopping, I bet you know what for." he read. "I'll be back around 6, you can eat anything you want as long as it isn't junk food or that cold stuff you like me to get. Thanks and be good, Mom" He laid it down and picked out some leftovers from last night. "Thanks mom" he mumbled, heating it up and eating it.

— — —  
The red haired boy was walking towards the same house as the dirt blonde haired boy lived in. It was getting late so he opened the door and went in. "I'm home!" came the same voice as yesterday. As the two fox ran up, the boy's hair became long, black, and glittery. His eyes became black spheres which rarely let slip any emotion, and his nails became longer. He was now a girl.

The red fox looked at her. "Well, you asked me yesterday why I always kept myself looking like a boy before you went to bed." Jasmine nodded and asked.

'What's for dinner? I don't want spaghetti again.'

'Why not? Spaghetti's good. But how 'bout we have rice balls tonight? Fill mine with cherries, ripe and lush.' Buster thought.

'I'll have fish, any kind, I'm not picky.' Jasmine thought.

"Ok, Rice balls it is." She made 5 rice balls, one for each fox and three for herself. After dinner she went to her bag and dumped it on her bed upstairs.

"Ok...Fox Mythology...The common fox...Unnatural stories of foxes...Dessert life...Fox, a great animal... and Rare foxes. If there's anything about foxes becoming human in here, I'll get my answer. If not, then I'm probably imagining things." She picked them up, leaving one 7th book behind. 'Demons, mythology or truth. it got flipped over onto it's back when she stood up.

'Demons, are they real? Or just in stories we tell kids? This book holds many stories of demons, or what people think they are. The accounts are real and the opinions of the people in here were actually expressed. Your decision, besides whether you believe or not, is as such. Are demons the evil things we think they are, or are they just misunderstood?' it read on the back.

A wind blew open and the last page of the book was shown. A small note was there. 'Now, after reading this book, I once again ask you what you believe. Do Demons exist? Are they evil?  
I myself believe they exist, though some of these stories seems preposterous. I also believe that demons are just misunderstood, not evil. I think they are trying and failing at fitting in, though some may have succeeded. But if they did, you wouldn't know, now would you?'

**Gah! I know...It's short! Don't hurt me! And I wanna make this clear. All the titles of those books were of the top of my head. If those books actually exist...I don't know. And that whole "Demons:Mythology or Truth" thing...Came from me and me alone. I own it! Unless...someone else also wrote it...in an actual book...-swirly eyed-**


	3. See Me, Hear Me

**Chapter 3 - See Me, Hear me **

**Just Call Me Blue : Hiei is the only thing you care about huh? You'll love his speech...in...way later chapter...then. And yes, Hiei sitting in a hole in the snow is pretty funny to think of.**

**NeoLannia : Thanks. I would post anyways. Oh, mind you...I may stop posting for awhile due to my mother's fury and bad grades...One bad grade...**

Kurama woke up, a thought in his head. 'Those boys, that girl, they're connected.' He thought and thought and thought, but still he couldn't figure it out. So he got up and ate breakfast. He was about to go out when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey" it was Yusuke, but he sounded strange.

"Yusuke, is something wrong?" Kurama asked.

"No Kurama" he sniffed. "I'm fine." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, you have a cold. Well, that's your fault."

"Shut" sneeze. "Up...I'm not in the mood today. I'm stuck in bed but I'm wondering if you've seen the news."

"The news?"

"Yes, some robberies have been made. Each time it was done the same exact way, but by a different guy. They" sniff. "Think it's the same guys just." Loud sneeze, Kurama held the phone away from his ear for a second, then brought it back. "wearing a different outfit each time." he sounded horrible.

"Ok Yusuke, I get it. You need to stop talking though, your colds getting worse."

"Whatever..." sneeze. Click.

Kurama thought on this. Then something clicked. They were all connected, because they were all the same person. Yusuke may not know what he just told Kurama, but it worked. The boy, the girl, and the other boy, they were the same person, just in a disguise.

He put on a quick coat and shoes, then hurried out of the house, leaving a note for his mom. 'I'm going out, be back later, bye!'

— — —  
A girl with short blonde hair wearing a white shirt with a giant snowflake on it, a white sweater, light blue gloves, and white jean like pants on with black and white shoes on was on a walk. She turned and stared at the sky. The clouds were high as was the humidity.

"It's going to rain...or snow actually." she said. Two fur balls at her feet stopped play fighting and looked up as snow started falling down.

'Can you read the mind of the earth too or something?' Buster asked.

"No, that's simple observation." she answered. The foxes began to run around again.

Kurama ran up the hill. From the park he'd be able to see if she...or he, was around anywhere, or at least one of her...his...w/e, disguises. Halfway up he heard a voice. "It's going to rain...or snow actually." a pause. "No, that's simple observation." It sounded like the answer to a question. Who asked?

He got to the top of the hill and saw the blonde haired girl, her light blue eyes reflecting in the flittering light and snow. Two balls of fur tumbled about her feet. She began to dance. She was humming something as she danced.

Her feet didn't leave marks in the ground and her clothing seemed to be a blanket of snow that surrounded her. She danced around like a ballerina on ice and it seemed she was flying. Her voice flowed over to him as she whispered what appeared to be the last line of a song's chorus, "Can you see me now?" (yes, it's a T.A.T.U. song, I like the line a lot. I really think it should be called Can You See(Me Now))

As the words left her she spun and didn't stop until what seemed a while later, when she had stopped her position was facing Kurama. She opened her eyes and jumped with a small yell of surprise.

"It's...I mean...Who are you?" she asked, stuttering.

"Heh, well, we've met before. I gather that much from your first try at conversation. But your appearance and voice are a bit different than before. Is this your real self?" he asked, walking around her, his eyes never leaving her face.

She was like a ninja, prepared for attack. The girl kept her eyes focused on his eyes, but out of the corner of her eyes she could see if he was about to attack her or not. Instead, she tried picking up his thoughts. His mind was blank except for one sentence. "It's the same person, I know it." Just when she was about to stop listening she got, "She's pretty" and gasped softly.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"N-nothing. You shouldn't stare." she said, turning away to hide the blush.

Kurama noted that while she stared at him her eyes turned into black orbs with a tint of red, then back to normal when she gasped. What it meant, he didn't know. "What is your name." It was almost a comment.

"Why should I tell you?" she snapped.

"Well, I shall introduce myself, then it will be only polite to introduce yourself." He bowed as he introduced himself. "I am Shuichi Minamino."

She paused. He was right. She would have to introduce herself now. But should she be truthful, and give him her real name? Or come up with a fake? She thought about it and then answered him.

"My name is Ikkensurunitariru, but you can call me Ikken." She said much less coldly than she had planned. Well, she had decided...to give her real name. Ok, so it wasn't her real name. She didn't have one. But she had been named later in life based on her power of disguise. Given too her by her trainer.Ikkensurunitariru meaning 'to be worth seeing' and Ikken meaning 'apparently, seemingly.' These characteristics made up her being now, her ever conscious plea. That someone would see past the disguise to the real her. She hated anyone who couldn't do that.

Kurama was surprised to say the least. "Wow. That is a very long name. Does it's meaning have anything to do with it?" he gave a piercing stare, as if he could see right through her to the secrets she held. She turned her head away so he couldn't see her face.

"Maybe...But you said that all I had to do was give my name, not the reason behind it." she said, glaring at the snow as if trying to make it melt.

"It's a beautiful name." She looked quickly to Kurama, but he was gone. She looked down at the two fox that were staring at where he had been.

"Where'd he..." she mumbled. Jasmine shrugged and Buster stared.

'He...does seems like a fox...just...not one like us...' Jasmine had a fox-dreamy expression on.

'Oh great! She's got a crush on him!' Buster said, exasperated. But he seemed to be slightly less obnoxious than usual.

Ikken smiled at Jasmine and then were Kurama had been. All that was left were the marks his shoes made when he walked. She saw that they headed for the edge of the park, but didn't follow them. Best to let things lie. He couldn't see her true self, so why should she care? She found herself still staring when her friends began running towards the exit.

'Come on Ikkensurunitariru!' Buster called.

She turned slowly to head out the opposite exit. "Can you see me now?"

**Note: You will probably never..I can't remember...but you probably wont ever hear her being called Ikkensurunitariru ever again. Just a note.**


	4. My First Christmas Present

**Chapter 4 - My First Christmas Present **

**Neolannia - To bad with the grade. I have 6 classes at my school (had 10 at my old school) and I have ...a grade I'm not sure of, F, B, A, A, A. Telling that to my mom doesn't work. She says "well, you're not everyone else are you?" and stuff like "you're above average!" C's are barely acceptable and anything lower, even a 70 C-) is reason to confiscate the computer. We're moving so until the connection to the computers is rebooted, I'll be off...again!**

**Lucia - Will continue. I've written the whole thing so I'll post A.S.A.P. I'm writing a Fruits Basket fic in my spiral folder at the moment.**

"Fox."

"Yea?" Kurama asked absentmindedly.

"Fox." repeated the fire youkai with more push.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"What's going on? You're acting strange, kitsune." he said, giving Kurama a suspicious glance.

"Nothing wrong. I just have things on my mind." He said, staring at the sky.

They were in the park again. Hiei was standing near a tree who's leaves had long since fallen off. Kurama was standing next to Hiei. Why they were standing next to a leafless tree was unknown. Hiei gave Kurama a half glare and then had a surprised and confused look on.

"A girl?"

"Huh?" Kurama started. "Hiei. Why did you read my mind?"

"Because I wasn't getting any answers out of you by just asking." Hiei turned and looked straight ahead. Kurama glared at Hiei for the intrusion of his mind, but then didn't glare, just ignored him.

There was an uneasy silence now. It seemed that all the world had forgotten noise and was deaf. Kurama took a step forward, making a crunching noise in the snow. He walked towards the exit, the crunching of snow beneath his feet the only sound in the cold air.

Everyone was about finished with shopping. So no one was window shopping unless they were the type to wait until the last minute. Kurama walked along the snow covered sidewalk towards his house.

A girl walked along the sidewalk in town. This girl was a dark redhead. She wore a black scarf, black jacket, black pants, and black gloves and hat. Black captured heat and multiplied it, so this was an extra warm outfit. This girl was Ikken. Her thoughts were of a red head and his comment, 'It's a beautiful name.' Maybe he-

She heard the footsteps before she saw the person. Her head snapped up and she saw the bright red hair as he walked down the sidewalk. His head was down, he hadn't yet seen her. Ikken jumped into the small opening between two stores. He passed by without a second glance. She stuck her head out of the small area to look at his retreating back. He stopped and turned around, she jumped back in.

Kurama's long hair flowed across his shoulder and down his right front side as he turned his head to look back. No one was there. But he had heard something. A cracking noise sounded above him before a piece of the shop roof broke, dropping lots of cold snow onto the fox's head.

"Oh." he sneezed. "That's cold." Ikken shivered. "I'd better get home." he turned and left. Ikken wondered why she shivered, she wasn't cold. She couldn't care about some guy she had never really met...could she?

Ikken slowly squeezed out of the small area and then ran off towards her house. She wanted to do something she'd never done for another living creature besides her two fox before. She was going to give that boy, Shuichi, a Christmas present.  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'Oh! Welcome...Back?' Jasmine stuttered as Ikken ran inside and upstairs. 'Ikken?' she turned to Buster.

'How should I know what's up?' he muttered as he ate a snack he'd taken from off the table. Jasmine's eyes narrowed.

'Buster...where'd you get that?' she asked, clearly holding in anger.

'Huh? Off the table. Why?' he answered. He instantly wished he hadn't answered. Jasmine launched herself at him and attacked.

Ikken was up in her room. She was standing in her doorway, looking in. She had been so intent on getting him a gift, but she had no idea what he liked or what to get him. There were library books on foxes but she didn't think he would want anything that was in one of them. But...he was like a fox, sort of, so maybe...

She set to work very quickly. Ikken went to her dresser and pulled out some objects she had never really used before. Needle and thread. So she sat on her bedroom floor with a sewing kit she'd bought when she first came to the human world, and worked. When her fox friends began pawing at the door and yipping, she went and made dinner. After dinner she came back to her room and started working.

'Ikken? We're coming in. It's time for bed, but you didn't say anything to us, so we came up ourselves.' Jasmine said softly as she nudged the door opened. She gasped slightly at what she saw. Ikken was laying on the ground, on top of something, protective almost. She was asleep.

They put her head on a pillow and covered her up, laying her on her back. Jasmine had put the thing she was working on away, because Buster had wanted to chew on it. Buster and Jasmine then hopped into their beds and went to sleep.  
- - - - - - - - - - - -

Kurama woke up the next day, no thoughts in his head (like me!). He got dressed and did his morning routine without having any recollection of the day before. He went down to the kitchen to get something warm to eat. While eating he slowly turned his head to look out the window.

The snow was falling in thick blankets, and outside it looked as if fairies from a book had popped out and begun to dance across the window. Dance...Her feet didn't leave marks in the ground and her clothing seemed to be a blanket of snow that surrounded her. She danced around like a ballerina on ice and it seemed she was flying.

Kurama snapped out of his daze after a moment. "Why did I?" 'Why did I think of her?' He answered his own question. "She's a good dancer...and she's beautiful too..." he was astonished at the words that left his mouth. After breakfast Kurama retired to his room and brought out the gifts he would give everyone. Christmas was only 3 days away, and even though Christmas wasn't a original Japanese holiday, they still celebrated it.

"Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, Kayko, Yukina, Botan, Shizuru, Mom..." he checked his gifts. "Seems I have everyone..." Kurama then wrapped them each up in their own boxes. Each of them were brightly colored and tied with a traditional bow. Some of the wrapping paper had snowmen on them, wearing skis and skiing in the snow. Others had skiers dressed in white gowns that looked like angels without wings. "Angel without wings..." Kurama shook his head to knock the thoughts out of it. "But, the least I could do is to get her a gift...if she's a girl...and I might not even see her on Christmas, but whatever."

It just seemed to be his nature to get everyone he knew a gift or something. He was just kind, more around the holidays than other times. This Christmas should be no different, right?

He didn't know what to get her...him? Depending on the gender would most likely change the gift. Maybe something both would like...He thought and thought and thought, but only one thing kept creeping back into his head. It was something a girl would like more than a boy, but it would work, since he knew she liked the snow. Kurama got on his jacket, shoes, and scarf, then headed to the store. This was one gift he could not make, not without lighting hitting sand.

— — —  
Ikken woke up around noon, then jumped up. "The time! I slept in! My gift!" She searched around, then Jasmine popped her head up from her bed, where she was sleeping late.

'W-what's wrong, Ikken?' she yawned.

"The gift I was working on! I can't find it!" she scurried around the room. The first gift she would give and it was missing.

'Oh...you mean that deflated bag? I put it over there...' she pointed sleepily to the bottom drawer of the dresser with her paw, that drawer wasn't used often.

"Oh. Thank you Jasmine." she went over and got it out. "If I'm going to be done in time, then I'll need to work fast. Seeing as how it looks like a deflated bag..."

'So, who's it for?' Buster was already up and bouncing around.

"Huh?"

'The gift. You wouldn't be giving something like that to us, we get little scarves and mittens for our paws, not...whatever that is.' he motioned towards the unfinished gift.

"Oh well..."

'It's him, isn't it? That guy we met. The one that seemed fox-like?' Jasmine said excitedly.

"Huh? Oh, yea...that's him." she said, blushing.

'Oh great. Love sick puppies! I swear!' Buster bounded out of the room. Jasmine ran out soon after, both to give Jasmine time to finish the gift and to go get something of her own.  
- - - — — — - - - — — — - - - — — — - - - — — — - - - — — —

Days passed, it was Christmas. Kurama had personally put his gifts in the hands of their recipients. He had a large box filled to the top that was slowly diminishing in cargo size. He started at noon, after spending the morning with his mom, and finished handing them out at about 2. Now only 1 gift was left, and it wasn't in the box. There would have been suspicion if he'd been walking around with an extra box. He had the last one hidden in his oversized coat.

Kurama dropped the empty box off by the road near his house and went into town. There was no one here, everyone was at home with their families. But Kurama was sure that this person had no family. So he walked towards the park, where he'd spoken to her.

Ikken was walking through the park, she had her gift for this Shuichi boy wrapped and ready, now she had to find him. After looking around for a while, she sat on an ice covered bench and sighed.

"It's not like I was actually expecting him to be here. He does have a family, I guess..." she was speaking to the air. Jasmine and Buster had refused to go outside in this cold. It had gotten steadily colder each day.

At the moment she looked like the blonde girl that Kurama had spoken to. If she kept changing her appearance, it would be very strange. So she'd keep it simple. After 20 minutes, she slowly got to her feet. He wasn't here, she'd have to look around tomorrow. Then soft and slow footsteps caught her attention.

Kurama stopped walking. She was standing in the snow, with the same clothing as before. Her back was to him, but as he stopped, she turned around, her hair waving slightly. She gasped softly when she saw him. Kurama's gaze fell onto the wrapped present on the bench. She followed his gaze, then picked up the gift.

"This...this is...for you." she handed the gift to him, her head down and turned away. She was blushing madly, and she was nervous. Kurama smiled and let out one small laugh. She raised her head.

"Thank you very much Ikken." he accepted the present, then set it down. At first she was confused at why he set it on the bench instead of opening it, but then she saw him reach into his jacket and take out a box.

"How the heck did you get that in there?" she asked, inspecting his jacket with her eyes.

"Oh, well...I'm not sure actually..." Kurama sweat-dropped and laughed. Then gave her the box. She took it. She slowly started to open it, then stopped.

"Open yours too!" she commanded. Kurama quickly picked up the box and began to open it, somehow not ripping the paper at all. She smiled and continued opening hers. Now to find out what they gave each other!

Ikken gave Kurama a stuffed toy fox that she had sewn herself, it was a silver-ish colored fox, the eyes were yellow and the tail was tipped black. Ok, it was more of a white fox then a silver fox, but it had a gray-  
ish tint to it that made it look silver! Kurama stared at it for a moment, it was well sewn and was actually kinda cute.

Kurama gave Ikken a glass figurine. It showed a girl with long hair dancing. She wore a skirt that sparkled even though the whole thing was clear. Her skirt ended halfway to her knees but a sash-like object around her waist hung lower. She was in the middle of a spin so the sash was flung out a bit. Her arms were up above her head and she was smiling. Ikken stared at it.

"Ikkensurunitariru!" she said in awe. Kurama looked up at her. She used her name to describe the gift. He smiled.

"This is nice." was his response to her gift. She had lowered her head after commenting on the gift. He wondered if something was wrong. "Ikken?" he put a hand out to put on her shoulder, but it never made it there.

Ikken raised her head, tears in her eyes, and leapt at him. She gave him a huge hug. "Thank you Shuichi. This is the first gift anyone's ever given me!" she cried. He was surprised and the fox fell to the ground, landing softly on it's feet.

**This chapter was 4 pages long. So this is about where I started writing this story again. I began a lot of my stories a while back. So if the 'style' of writing changes, that's why.**

**I hope you enjoyed. Please don't threaten me if I don't update.**

**Inuc : Just because Blue's reviewers do that when she doesn't update doesn't mean yours will. They're nicer, right?**

**Yea...I guess. Thanks everybody! Have a nice life! I'll be at JACON in Orlando on the first two days! I'll be dressed as Jun Tao from Shaman King, only instead of a black dress with green, it's a green dress.**

**Inuc : And you wear glasses.**

**Shut up. Anyways, bye!**


	5. Truth and Lies

**Chapter 5 - Truths and Lies**

**JACON ROCKED! I met TRAVIS WILLINGHAM (Roy Mustang)! He signed my JACON book and a piece of paper for my sister and my sister's shirt, which is now framed and on our wall, and MY KIMONO! And I gave him a piece of paper to give to Vic (Ed Elric) and he said he'd say Hi to him for me! I met Just Call Me Blue and met a guy who is really good at cosplaying Kyo named Mark. And Travis said that next year he's gonna dress up as his character, Roy Mustang! He was really nice. I hugged him 5 times, got three pictures with him, and duh, got his autograph many times. I also lost my voice, but I can still type!**

**I bought a ninja headband, 4 posters, I -heart- -insert name here- clips and the FMA dvd, soundtrack 1-2, and a JACON shirt.**

**Reb bought a Kyo plushie, I -heart- -insert name here- clips, an Edward Elric clock, 4 posters, the 1st 3 GN of Prince of Tennis, and a JACON shirt. We bought Pocky, but it was all melted together by the time we got home Saturday night.**

**P.S. FMA was SO great Saturday!**

**P.P.S. One of my posters has Youko Kurama on it...and the others, but Youko. One of Sasuke and Sakura from Naruto, one of Heero Yuy and Wing Gundam from Gundam Wing, and the last one is of the Full Metal Alchemist gang from, duh, Full Metal Alchemist!**

**Inuc: Reviewer responses.**

**Oh right. Ok! -clears throat-**

**NeoLannia: I've been in advanced classes for most of my entire school life. Yes, it's very sad. Here's my update.**

**Lucia: Updated! Ok...I only got 2 reviews...this sucks.**

**Oh! I got a flame. A funny flame about Marry Sues. I'm gonna respond to it. So Heaven Sword, if you care to look, here it is!**

**Heaven Sword: Did you even take time to read my story? Or did you just go to the bottom and click review? I try very hard not to make Marry Sues. And I have a Fact Of Life thing to tell you...**

**-clears throat- I'M A GIRL! I MAKE GIRL OC CHARACTERS! DEAL!**

**Continued: I'm a fangirl, but I'm not a screaming fangirl and I'm not a 'write a story with myself paired with kurama' fangirl either. I just write fanfiction. It's legal. If you don't like those stories, don't read them. It's really easy to just click 'next' or 'delete' if it's an email, or to just scroll past it on the page. I can agree that all of my characters are 'basically' the same. But I try to give them each a different background that will give them different personalities now. I think my stories are easy to like and I hope that my characters are easy to...um...understand.**

**Okay, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have my online service bak, duh, so I'll try to update once a day to get this story posted. Oh, and a note to my GS reviewers if they're reading this. I am writing Of Blue and Silver Hair, but it'll need a lot of refinement once I get the dvds and can actually put in the correct wording and crud. Anyways, bye!.**

Kurama often found a way of sneaking away from the others to see Ikken. She always made sure to look like the same girl each time, but wearing different clothes. Jasmine and Buster came sometimes too, and Kurama brought little goodies for them sometimes. Ikken was amazed each time he brought a bit of a plant because they were plants she'd never heard of. Each time, before they parted, Ikken sang the line 'Can you see me now' from T.A.T.U.

Jasmine had found that she liked to just curl up in his lap or on his shoulders, sometimes in his hair, and fall asleep. Buster loved to run about his feet as he walked and knock him down...this never worked but he kept at it. As she spent time with him, Ikken found he seemed more like a fox to her with each day. He was graceful, had a kind aura, and more. He was like Jasmine and Buster mixed and in human form.

It was the beginning of Spring and the cherry blossoms hadn't bloomed yet. Kurama looked from the trees in the park, to Ikken. She and Jasmine were dancing in the warmth of the sunlight. Buster had taken to sleeping in the tree Kurama had been staring at.

'Look at that Ikken! Buster plays in the snow and sleeps in the spring!' Jasmine laughed. Kurama had long since gotten used to hearing her foxes speak to her. She still had no idea that he knew.

"Buster! Why are you sleeping? It's so wonderful out here right now!" Ikken called out to him. Buster stirred, turned around, and went back to sleeping.

'Lazy bum' Jasmine complained. She then smiled a fox smile and jumped on Kurama, knocking him over. 'Gotcha!' she yelled joyfully.

'Yea...you got me.' Kurama sent this message to her through her mind and she jumped off him, looking around wildly. Her gaze fell on Kurama.

'Ikken! Ikken! Come here!' she shrieked. Ikken ran over.

"What's wrong?" she asked, smiling and breathing hard.

'He-he-he just spoke to me with his _mind_!' she yelled, backing up behind Ikken. Her smile faded.

"No...he couldn't have..." she assured Jasmine, and herself.

'He did! I'm telling you! He did!' she tried.

"I did." Kurama answered, standing up and dusting himself of. She jumped and rounded on him.

"Y-you heard her?" she asked. Kurama nodded. "How long have you been able to hear her?"

"Since I met her. I can hear them both clearly." he said calmly, but his eyes showed a fear that she wouldn't meet him again. She didn't see this, she didn't read his mind, she backed up.

"S-so...you've known...all along...that I spoke to them...and you didn't say anything?" she asked, backing up a bit more.

"Yes, I've known. I didn't say anything because you seemed to like talking with them. If you knew I knew, then you might've stopped speaking with them when I was around. I didn't want that." he explained, extending a hand to her. She hit it away.

"How could you?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "I'm waiting! Waiting for the one who can see me! I thought...maybe if I spent time with you...maybe you'd be that person...but...to leave me in the dark like that...I can't stand you!" she turned and ran off. Buster blinked, saw her running off, and followed, after glaring at Kurama. Jasmine was still there.

"Aren't you going to rush off too?" Kurama asked, sitting down in the grass. He stared at the ground and laid his arms on his knees. Jasmine walked up to him and placed a paw on his leg. He looked at her.

'Ikken...she's confused...That song means more to her than anyone but us knows...She already told you this...but she's been waiting for a long time for someone who can see her.'

"I can see her.." Kurama said softly. Jasmine shook her head, it was sooo cute!

'No. You see the girl she wants you to see. But...when we want to, Buster and I can see what her true form is. Each time she sang that line 'Can You See Me Now?'...she was asking you what you saw.' Jasmine explained. 'She likes you...just give her some time...'

The fox bounded off after her owner and her fox friend. Kurama watched her go. He remembered each time she left, singing that song. The boys he'd run into when he'd first met her. How they were all the same girl. He understood. Ikken wasn't human at all. She was most likely a demon. One who could disguise itself and change it's voice so it cant be detected. Ikken probably hadn't shown anyone her true self in so long, she might've forgotten what she looked like.

He stood up and walked out of the park. He was supposed to meet with Yusuke in the arcade in about 5 minutes anyway...

**Hope you liked it. Sorry in advanced if I forget to update tomorrow...Oh!**

"Mr. Elric! I apologize in advance for this!" -smack- : Ross from FullMetal Alchemist

**Oh right, My Spanish grade is coming up! It's almost...a...-clears throat- a D now...-sweatdrop-**


	6. To Forgive and Forget

**Chapter 6 - To Forgive and Forget**

**No Reviews...Do you guys hate me that much? I would usually wait till I got a review, but I've wasted so much time already. You guys deserve another chapter. I checked my last chapter and realized...it was just one scene...I mentally smacked myself. I seriously did not mean to do that...**

A few days afterwards, Kurama found himself staring out windows at the park. He hoped that Ikken would forgive him. Another person who could talk to foxes, and he had driven her off. He sighed.

"Hey, what's up Kurama?" Yusuke asked. "You've been quiet." Kurama turned to him.

"Don't worry Yusuke. I'm just tired is all. I didn't get much sleep last night." he lied. It sounded like he was telling the truth though, so Yusuke shrugged and walked off again. Hiei turned his head from the window and looked a Kurama, who was next to him.

"Why do you lie fox?" he asked in a somewhat indifferent tone. Kurama looked at the table in front of him.

"I don't know if I'll ever even see her again...it's best not to bring in any others. Yusuke, though having good intentions, would only be pejorative...Kuwabara as well..." he closed his eyes and leaned back.

"Hn...fox." Hiei said. Kurama didn't move. "Fox." he tapped Kurama on the shoulder. Kurama opened the eye closest to Hiei. "Look out the window." he pointed.

Kurama sat up and looked out the window. A girl with flowing red hair, like Kurama's, was walking past. She has green eyes just a bit darker than his. The girl was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, great since the weather was slowly warming up. She sneezed and kept walking. Kurama opened the window a crack and whispered.

"Ikken." he called in a whispy voice. The girl jumped and looked around, but he had already closed the window and hidden. He watched her walk off with an inner smile on. His face was neutral. Hiei stared at him with slight interest, that looked like slight hatred.

"Why did you do that?" he asked. Kurama shrugged.

"To see if it was her..."

"If they look that much like you, it's her." Hiei stated before jumping out the window and into a tree.

Kurama laughed once, then looked down the road as the red haired Ikken's back disappeared around the corner.

— — —

'Ikken...if you really hate the guy, then why are you so down?' Jasmine asked. Ikken shrugged.

"Maybe I'm tired..." she said her eyes half closed. Jasmine narrowed her eyes.

'I suppose that's also why you're going out looking like him!' she yelled before bounding out the door.

"J-jasmine! Come on Jasmine! What'd I do?" Ikken called down the stairs. Buster looked up from the bottom.

'She's under the stairs.' he said simply, turning and going under the stairs too.

"I'm going out Buster...please make sure she's ok, ok?" Ikken asked before closing the front door behind her.

She was walking down the road when she heard a soft 'Ikken' and flipped around. No one was there so she figured it was her imagination. She turned around and kept walking. A window she had just passed opened and there were voices. She ignored them until she got around the corner. Then it hit her.

The voice saying 'Ikken' had been Shuichi's and one of the voices from that open window had been his too! He had been no more than 10 ft away! She looked back down the street, but Kurama was no longer in the window. She walked back to the window and looked through it. It was an empty room.

"Did I imagine it?" she asked, looking down. She saw something below the window and knelt down. It was a beautiful red rose, but she was sure it hadn't been there before. "Huh?"

"Do you like it?" came a dark voice. She flipped around and saw Hiei.

"Who?" was all she managed. This boy was so different from Kurama it was scary. His black and white hair defied gravity and the evil look in his eyes made her cringe. He repeated himself.

"Do you like the rose?" he asked in the same dark voice. Slowly, she nodded, hoping he wouldn't hurt her. When he laughed she glared.

"What's so funny?" she asked angrily.

"You pretend." Hiei stated. "You run away from whatever it is that scares you if it's not an immediate problem._ I'_m an immediate problem._ I _could kill you now. And_ I _wouldn't care. But Kurama..._he_ wasn't an immediate problem. You could run away and not face him. But you cant outrun your problems!"

Somehow, Ikken got the impression that he didn't usually talk this much. She stayed quiet.

"Kurama cant forget about a girl who, like him, can speak to foxes. Do you know what he is? What you are?" Hiei asked. She saw a spot on his headband glow and backed up. Her mind felt compressed into a small box. "You are not like him, but he is not like anyone I know. There is a classification, which we all fit into, but there are different types of people...creatures in that category. Kurama is different from all the others, so are you. I'm sure there are others...like you. But there are few of him. Few who would go to such lengths and who wouldn't give up until they're job is done." Hiei then disappeared.

"Uh- wait...Um...I... What just happened?" she asked.

She shook her head and turned to leave. Hiei's words rang in her head and she looked to the sky.

"Like him...There are few who would got to such lengths and who wouldn't give up until they're job is done..." she smiled softly on the outside, inside was a great guilt for yelling at him. As she recalled it, Ikken saw sadness in Kurama's eyes as she turned to run away...wait...who was Kurama? Trying to brush it off, she ran home as the sun set.

— — — - - -

"What did you tell her Hiei?" Kurama asked as the stars started coming out. Hiei 'hn'ed.

"Nothing to important. I just knocked some sense into the onna." he answered.

"Heh...goodnight Hiei." Kurama sat on his roof as Hiei narrowed his eyes and jumped off.

Kurama layed on his back and stared at the sky as night fell around him like a blanket. The stars twinkled and sparkled in the sky. Kurama was reminded of a snow dancer. A dress of snow and moves of an angel. He thought back and could've sworn she had wings when she danced...

'_Who are you?'_ a silent voice asked.

'I am me...The demon Youko Kurama.' he thought. Kurama felt in a daze.

'_Reveal yourself to me...Tell me who you are, not your name...your soul...'_ it coaxed. Kurama didn't think anything, his mind was blank...but the emotions he was feeling at the time...things he'd felt in the past...seemed to be flowing through him.

— — —

Ikken got home as the sun just about finished setting. Jasmine and Buster ran up.

'I'm sorry Ikken...I was...I'm sorry' she apologized. Ikken brushed it off.

"Don't worry Jasmine. It's no big deal. I'm gonna go watch the stars from the roof, ok?" the two foxes nodded and went off to play.

Ikken ran up the stairs and onto the roof as the first star came out. She was once again pondering the name Kurama. Who was Kurama? That guy had called him Kurama, but she thought his name was Shuichi. Ikken closed her eyes and sent out a pulse. Where was he right now?

To her surprise she found he was also on a roof and was easy to find. The power she was using now, it focused on emotions, how that person was feeling at the moment. She sent out another almost undetectable pulse and asked a question aloud.

"Who are you?" she asked.

'_I am me...The demon Youko Kurama.'_ she heard him answer. She gasped at the find. He was a demon too? Wait...could you classify her as a demon?

'_There is a classification, which we all fit into, but there are different types of people...creatures in that category_' Hiei had said that...She asked again.

"Reveal yourself to me...Tell me who you_ are. _Not your name." she corrected. "Your soul." she suddenly got a rush.

He was like an open book. Kurama wasn't even trying to block her out. She saw things as she felt them. The rush of a chase, the thrill of a kill, she gasped. She then felt the love for a mother, the regret of past sins, the bond between friends, and new strength for a new day. Ikken dug further, though her head hurt. She felt a strange bond, and saw faint images of daily life. A picture in his mind that was still fresh, a new memory, was a picture of a girl dancing. Ikken saw the black haired boy and heard a conversation.

"_Fox." _

"_Yea?" Kurama asked absentmindedly. _

"_Fox." repeated the fire youkai with more push. _

"_What?" Kurama asked. _

"_What's going on? You're acting strange, kitsune." he said, giving Kurama a suspicious glance. _

"_Nothing wrong. I just have things on my mind." He said, staring at the sky. _

_Hiei gave Kurama a half glare and then had a surprised and confused look on. _

"_A girl?" _

"_Huh?" Kurama started. "Hiei. Why did you read my mind?" _

"_Because I wasn't getting any answers out of you by just asking."_

She heard other things about herself, she got a headache.

"_Hey, what's up Kurama?" Yusuke asked. "You've been quiet." Kurama turned to him._

"_Don't worry Yusuke. I'm just tired is all. I didn't get much sleep last night." he lied. Yusuke shrugged and walked off again. Hiei turned his head from the window and looked a Kurama, who was next to him._

"_Why do you lie fox?" he asked in a somewhat indifferent tone. Kurama looked at the table in front of him._

"_I don't know if I'll ever even see her again...it's best not to bring in any others. Yusuke, though having good intentions, would only be pejorative...Kuwabara as well..." he closed his eyes and leaned back._

She saw one last thing before cutting the connection. A picture of her, the last time she saw him...when she had yelled at him. She saw herself through his eyes. Ikken felt pain and shut her eyes.

"Stop it, stop it." she commanded. As the images faded and her eyes filled with tears, she relayed one last thing to Kurama. "I'm sorry."

— — —

Kurama blinked out of his daze.

'_I'm sorry'_ he had heard it...hadn't he? Someone apologizing? It had been...Ikken. He looked around as a deep feeling of sadness lifted, like it had been water and he had been a laminated piece of paper...it just bounced off...

"No need to be sorry Ikken..." he said softly, sitting up and placing his arms on his knees. "I should be the one apologizing...After all, you're the one with wings..." he jumped down through his window and got in bed.

The stars twinkling above helped both of them to fall asleep...a soft lullaby played through the air on the wings of the wind. No body really heard it, but it helped all who were awake...to fall into deep, peaceful sleep. The tune played across the city in a slow movement. Kurama listened to it play, the wind that is, for a good 2 minutes before the softness of it all put him to sleep. Ikken, feeling the sleep of a thousand years of difficult life, fell asleep almost instantly after hitting the softness of her pillow.

**That was my longest chapter yet! Ha! Wait...that's sad...**


	7. The Truth Behind The Mask

**Chapter 7 - The Truth Behind The Mask**

**Sonya-White-Angel:Updatedness. I liked that chp too. enjoy.**

**Lucia:I have been beaten in the UPDATE factor...You wrote more UPDATEs than I did. Sad, but oh well. Here's the next chapter.**

**Two reviewers...-sad-**

A week had passed since that night, and still Kurama had not seen Ikken. Ikken had been getting back to her regular schedule and brooded upon what she had learned by night. One day there was a story on the news.

"So...what do you suppose we'll have for dinner tonight?" Ikken asked, turning on her rarely used tv.

'I don't know...how about fish?' Buster asked, slightly bored. Jasmine nodded, then pounced on him. They play fought as the news came on.

"Now for our latest story. Another bank was robbed in Tokyo-" Ikken turned it up. "This is the 5th in a rash of robberies all over the city. The crime was done just as the other 4 were, but once again by a different culprit. No leads have been found as to the identity of the mastermind behind it all. This is a clip from the first robbery."

On the screen was a man with brown hair, mostly covered with a hat, and green eyes.

"This is from the second one, and this from the third."

On the screen appeared a man wearing about the same hat but with blonde hair and green eyes. The third was a man in the same hat with red hair and green eyes. A fourth screen appeared, and the news caster announced it. It was the same hat but the guy had blue hair and green eyes.

"This is the most recent shot of a robbery." the caster commented as the 5th appeared. It was the same hat, the same green eyes, but he had green hair this time. Ikken was staring avidly at the screen.

'Ikken?' Jasmine asked, tapping her. Buster and her had stopped fighting. Ikken's eyes narrowed at the screen, at the man with green hair.

"He's back."

— — — - - - — — —

Kurama stared at the screen. Could the robber be Ikken? He shook his head. Of course not. Ikken was nice. She was no bank robber. He blinked, wondering how much he actually knew her...He shook his head again.

_No! She's not a criminal!_ He yelled in his mind. Kurama got up and left. The sun was setting as he walked down the road.

Kurama's mind was blank. He might have run into a few things, but Kurama didn't notice. He soon found himself in the park, where he had seen Ikken dancing. Kurama blinked, when had he gotten here? He shrugged and sat on the nearest bench. He thought back and remembered when he saw her dancing.

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure she had wings. They had been almost see through, but he was sure he'd seen them. Ikken had seemed so beautiful while she danced...She couldn't possibly be a robber...could she?

Footsteps caught his attention and he turned his head.

— — —

Ikken ran upstairs and put on her jacket. She ran out of her house with one thought in mind. She had to tell someone about this. She had to tell Kurama about this.

— — —

Kurama turned his head and saw Ikken. She had black hair that went to her waist and her dark orbs penetrated the surrounding area. She was wearing a slack white t-shirt with a red circle in the center. She wore a pair of blue shorts that could hardly be seen below the shirt. Kurama blinked as he stared at her. She was breathing hard and had a desperate look in her eyes. He closed his eyes and mentally sighed.

"Ikken." he stated. Kurama opened his eyes to see that Ikken's breathing had slowed to normal and she looked hopeful.

"Can you see me now?" she asked. Kurama shook his head.

"No...not how you wish it. I can see you as you wish me to see you." he answered, like always. Kurama opened his eyes and for a moment, thought he was remembering still. He saw something...different. Kurama saw a faint image of wings and he could've sworn her limbs were different colors. Blinking, she looked normal again. "D-do you want something?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Have you seen the news?" she asked, a slight plea in her voice. He nodded and she swallowed. "We've got trouble."

"Trouble?" Kurama repeated. "What's going on Ikken?" he asked.

"Kurama. I learned my disguising ability from someone. His name was Yue and he was really nice. But when I started to get strong, I noticed he changed. He became evil and power hungry. Yue's aura changed completely. I ran away...I ran to the human world. Once here I used my abilities to blend in."

"Abilities." Kurama mumbled. Ikken nodded.

"When I came here, I landed on a fox's den. All of them died but one. I took her in and named her Jasmine. A while later, before I got a house...Jasmine and I found Buster. He'd been abandoned as a pup, so I took him in. I got a job, then bought a house. For awhile, I thought I was free of Yue and his demon dojo forever." she explained, sitting down next to Kurama.

"I saw the news...and I was scared. He's back...I know he's looking for me. Yue found a way to capture energy. That's the main reason I ran away. I didn't want him to take what little power I had." she explained.

"How does he suck out their power?" Kurama asked, his tone serious.

"Their souls." she said, placing her hands over her chest. "He learned how to suck out a creatures soul! Yue's a monster! Once I considered him my brother almost, but now...I never want to see him again!" she slid off the bench and fell to her knees. Kurama sat down next to her.

"Ikken. Are you al-...right?" he blinked. Had he seen those wings again? He shook his head, there was no time for that.

'Very clever Ikken. You're progressing well. Soon you'll probably be as good as me.'

Ikken stood up, looking around. She held her head. Kurama looked up at her.

"Ikken?" he asked, standing up. She took off. "Ikken! Wait! Where are you going! Come back!"

'I'm sorry Kurama! I have to do this alone!' she ran through the city. She stopped and focused on his position. Once she had it, Ikken took off again. Kurama saw which way she went and was following as best he could.

— — —

'Yue! I know you're here! Come out you bastard!' she yelled in her mind. Nothing happened. "Yue! I hate your guts!" she screamed. A wind blew across the abandoned dock she'd found herself in. A high, cold laugh accompanied it.

"So...you're here afer all. I'm never wrong. Seems you still refuse to let the world see what you are." A voice said.

A man with purple locks that hung to his waist and framed his face walked into view. His eyes were green and he wore a sick smirk. Yue wore black and red robes that went to the floor and the hat from all the videos lay on a box to his left. Behind him, in an abandoned warehouse, lay jewels, money, gold, and bones. Rat bones, cat bones, dog bones...His teeth were pointed and sharp, as were his claws. He had upside down crescents on his cheeks and forehead. The long sleeves of his robes hid whatever markings were on his limbs. Red jewels were crammed into the back of his hands. Yue smirked as Ikken glared.

"What? Not happy to see your mentor?" he asked in a mock hurt voice. Ikken punched with her left hand, sending a wave of air at him. Yue hit it with his own wave of air, neutralizing both attacks.. Ikken growled and punched with her right hand, throwing fire at him. Yue blinked before dodging. "Learned new moves have you?"

"What's it to you?" she asked in a loud voice. They were standing about 30 ft apart. Yue shrugged.

"Tisk tisk tisk. Temper temper! You still have problems with that anger." he mocked. Yue laughed heartily for a few moments, Ikken's aura grew with her anger. He blinked. "Still cant control your aura either. I'll tell you one last time...Even when you're angry, hide your aura. It's one of the worst mistakes you can make if you let your enemy know your full strength." he grinned.

"Don't tell me what to do! I am not your brat anymore! I've grown. I am no longer 8 years old!" she screamed. She had run away at age 8, wandered Makai for years, then found a portal to the human world and took her chances. That was 2 years ago. Yue seemed to be reading something invisible.

"Ha! So. You've declared all who can't see through your disguise unworthy? Then how will you ever find love darling?" he asked, speaking as a rich dressmaker would.

"You...Don't go through my memories!" she yelled, fearing he would learn of Kurama. Her fears were realized when Yue looked thoroughly pleased and looked up.

"Kurama, huh? Wonderful dear, perfect. You went against your code. I've always had a seriousness about holding to codes, you know that. I'll just have to destroy your little 'fox boy'." he grinned.

"Bastard!" she ran at him full force and beat in his chest. Yue flew across the dock and landed just before falling off the dock and into the water. He looked down at the water, then glared at Ikken.

"You almost got my outfit wet." he complained. Ikken was shaking with anger.

"Never touch Kurama. Or I'll KILL YOU!" She yelled, still shaking. She was suddenly in the wall of a warehouse.

"You have no room to tell me what to do." Yue said evilly as he walked through the rubble and into the warehouse after his prey. "You're fox boy wont be coming!" he yelled, getting the fleeting impression that she wanted help. "You told him to stay away yes? 'I'm sorry Kurama! I have to do this alone!'" he mocked.

'Alone!' it rang in her head. 'Alone! Am I alone? Kurama can't see me! He can't see me!' she cried in her mind.

— — —

'He can't see me!' Kurama skidded to a stop. What was that? He turned around and looked in the other direction.

"Over there." he said, taking off.


	8. Can You See Me Now

**Chapter 8 - You Can See Me Now?**

**Larka White Wolf: Wow...thanks. -smile- I wasn't able to post for awhile, but maybe the delay was good?**

**Sonya-White-Angel: My sucky battle chapter has appeared, indeed. I hope it isn't too bad. Enjoy...maybe**

**xXDaRkNeSsRoSeInEsSxX: Chappie here! Sorry for the cliffies! -smiles-**

**THREE Reviewers! YAY!**

Ikken hid behind an old crate. From the smell it was probably an old beer box. She held her left arm and watched slowly as the blood flowed out of it. She remembered clearly the pain when she had been smashed through the wall. But after that she had run into a pipe, causing her arm injury. She prayed that Yue couldn't smell blood. She heard him walking through the broken wood and examining the place. He called out to her every so often with things like 'puppet', 'darling,' and 'little missy.'

'_What is he? Western?'_ She thought angrily.

"Ah! There you are!" he threw wind at the crate and she closed her eyes. The crate blew up, sending her flying through the air.

"Ah!" she screamed, landing on her left shoulder caused her to wince in pain. But she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing her arm hurt her. She crawled away to a shadowed part of the room.

"Come now Puppet. I ain't gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk." he cooed. Ikken knew better and stood up. Running as lightly as she could, Ikken darted through the shadows into the next room of the building. She would go up, but dripping blood would draw his attention.

She leaned against a wall after running a good ways away from him. She couldn't hear him anymore, so she let her breathing go unchecked. Taking in gasps of air and trying to make the pain in her arm go away, she sat there.

'_I can't think...He can read my thoughts...Oh, but I need help.'_ she argued with herself. _'Wait...he cant read my mind...he can sense when I'm angry or desperate! Then...I just wont be.'_ she thought.

Sitting there, the darkness enveloped her. The silence that filled the room was so heavy that soon she could hear through the walls and into the large room Yue was in. He was whistling...he knew she wasn't there anymore...So what was he waiting for? She scooted father from the sound and hit the corner wall with her left arm. Pain shot through her body and she realized her injury was worse than it seemed.

'_Desperate or not...I need help...' _she thought. Ikken took a deep breath, braced herself, and went for it. "KURAMA!" She called.

It echoed. Yue smirked.

"Seems she can't help herself." he jumped and was gone.

* * *

"KURAMA!"

Kurama paused in running. He had heard it...duh. He took off at an even greater speed.

* * *

Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Shizuru paused. They had been playing a video game. Yusuke looked to Kuwabara. That scream, someone had called for Kurama. They both went onto the balcony and looked around. The whole city seemed to be waiting...

* * *

Hiei sat bolt upright. He'd been asleep. Most of the city was asleep. He looked around and untied his headband. Hiei searched the city, his prison, for any signs of movement.

He saw Ikken, black haired though, sitting in a shadowy corner of a warehouse, bleeding and in need. He saw Yue, jumping around in the warehouse like it was a fun house and glared at this demon's stupidity. He saw Yusuke and Kuwabara, looking for the source of the recent noise. And he saw Kurama, running towards the docks. He was almost there already.

Hiei retied his headband and took off.

* * *

"Come out come out where ever you are!" Yue called, bouncing on the tops of crates in the room Ikken now hid. She caught her breath and hoped Kurama had heard her.

"Now now, I have no time for such games. I have a schedule to keep, and a list to check off. You're at the top of that list, so you're first!" he said in an almost singsong voice. She pressed herself further into the wall and hoped against all hope that help, Kurama or not, was coming.

"There you are." came a whisper in her ear. She jumped and screamed, backing away from Yue. She hit only wall and had nowhere to go. "While you hide yourself, you can not use your 'great power!' So come out now. Show it to me!"

She spit at his feet. He glared at her. Yue flung out his arm, little golden rings appeared that held her to the wall. He flung out his other arm, and as he spoke, he threw blades of wind at her.

"How dare you! I raised you! I found you in the Makai forest and took you in! This is how you repay me? Ruining my new outfit?" he asked, pausing.

Her sleeves were gone and the excess of her extra-large t-shirt. She had multiple slashes on her legs and arms, blood spilling from each wound. She coughed up some blood and then raised her head.

"Damn you." she said in almost a whisper. "When you took me in you were a kind and gentle demon. Now you are nothing but a crook. A robber, a mere _mortal_. A mere **_human_**" she hissed. He was seething.

"I am not human! I am the greatest!" he yelled, closing in on her. "You know how I gain power, correct? It's why you ran away! To escape the inevitable! Now face it! You can not run away anymore!" he said, a mere 5 steps from her.

"You pretend." Ikken recited, eyes half closed. "You run away from whatever it is that scares you if it's not an immediate problem._ I'_m an immediate problem. But Kurama..._he_ isn't an immediate problem. You could run away and not face him. You could run away and not face me. But you cant outrun your problems! Do you know what we are? What we _all_ are? You are not like him, but he is not like anyone I know. There is a classification, which we all fit into, but there are different types of people...creatures in this category. Kurama is different from all the others, so are you. I'm sure there are others like you. But there are few of him. Few who would go to such lengths and who wouldn't give up until they're job is done."

"What?" Yue asked, baffled at the sudden speech.

"I ran away...from my problems. I ran away from Kurama, from the world. That was wrong. I was wrong to not face my problems. I know what we all are. Every living thing in every existing realm resides in it. We're all living creatures. We're all monsters. Doesn't matter if we're human, demon, or angel. It doesn't matter if we're a spirit or a magical creature. Everything resides in one classification..." she began to cry. Hiei, who was sitting in the opening in the roof that used to be a window, smiled at the fact that she understood. "I'm a...monster too..."

"Yes..you are. A monster pretending to be an angel. Your powers will greatly help me. Now, give me your soul." he demanded, reaching out to her. He placed his hand on her forehead and she began to glow.

A whipping noise was heard as Kurama's rose whip appeared, slashing off his hand. He screamed in agony as he held his hand, backing up. Kurama ran up and pulled Ikken from the wall.

"Are you alright Ikken?" he asked, she wasn't moving. "Ikken!"

"K-kurama..." she muttered, looking up at him and smiling. "Can you...see me now?" she asked. Kurama smiled a small smile at her. He nodded.

"Yes...I can see your wings." he answered, finally consenting to the fact that they were real and what she had always been asking about. She smiled and closed her eyes. Her head dropped and she fell limp. Kurama's eyes widened. "Ikken? Ikken!" he shook her.

"Heh heh. I don't get her power...but neither does she." Yue laughed, another hand taking the place of his lost one. "As you can see, I can regenerate. So you have no chance."

Kurama stood up. He was boiling over with rage and sadness. His aura blew around them, making Ikken's hair blow too. Yue backed up and covered his face from the blue-ish light that was coming from Kurama. Smoke billowed out and when it cleared, Youko Kurama stood where Kurama had been.

"Who?" Yue managed. Youko looked from him, to Ikken, and back to him. He was suddenly in front of Yue and sliced off his right arm. Yue regenerated it. "Ha. I told you, I cant be beaten!"

"Who said I was trying to beat you? I want to kill you." he said in a soft and evil voice. Yue blinked and shot wind at him. Youko deflected it and then ran up, slicing off both arms. Yue fell to the ground in pain, then his arms grew back.

"You can't kill me that way." Yue laughed, standing up. "Not even if you cut my head off will I die!"

"Fox." Hiei said from behind them. Youko looked at him as Yue charged. He had Yue parried. "She's alive. Give her some of your energy and she should be ok." he instructed coldly. Youko nodded, turning back to Yue. He pushed Yue back a few feet.

Yue came at Youko again, but was caught by Hiei. Hiei fought him as Youko went over to Ikken. He transferred some of his energy to her and didn't stop giving her energy until he heard her breathing. He looked down at her and saw she was completely different from before. Ikken slowly stood up, holding her head. Youko Kurama stared as he stood up.

She had white wings and black crescents on her cheeks with blue lining. Dark blue lines spiraled down both her arms and legs. On her left arm and right leg, a red line swirled down along with the blue one. On her right arm and left leg, a purple line swirled down along with the blue one. She had a medium blue gem shaped like a diamond on her forehead. It was glowing due to the fact that so much spiritual energy was at work at the moment.

She was wearing a silver silk outfit, almost a kimono. The slits in the sides started at the bottom of the skirt and went up to 1 ½ feet from her hips. Her sleeves were long and flared, starting at the elbows. She wore white gloves; ending at the wrist, and white boots; ending at the ankle. Both flared at their tops, or bottoms...your choice what to call it. She had a gold locket hanging around her neck and a silver bracelet on her right wrist

Her eyes were a brilliantly bright blue that seemed to pierce everything, even the soul, with gold lining. Her canines were slightly longer than normal. She had strawberry blonde hair with dirty blonde, natural highlights. Her cheeks were tinted a slight pink as if she just got back from the beach and had a little too much sun on her face. Her lips were the normal pinkish color but the lipstick she wore was deep black.

Her eyelashes and nails were also slightly longer than usual. Her ears were pointed like an elf's ears.

Youko stared. Hiei glanced over and saw her, he pushed Yue back as Youko had done and walked over. Ikken, gathering her senses, finally noticed where she was.

"It's you, shorty! It's Yue! But...where's...?" she looked at Youko. He was also very different from Kurama. She looked into his golden eyes and saw Kurama. "Kurama?"

"Seems you see me too." he smirked. She smiled. He was so different now, but he was still Kurama.

"So, you aren't hiding anymore, huh coward?" Yue asked. He no longer had sleeves due to Youko cutting off his arms. He took off his jacket/over-robe thing and threw it away. He was now wearing a sleeveless black shirt and black pants with red streaks up the sides. His boots were red with black designs.

"Do you know what I think Hiei?" Youko asked. Hiei looked at him as if to ask 'what?' Youko nearly laughed. "I think his hair is too long."

"You have no right to say that fox." Hiei said with a smirk. "Your hair is longer than his now." Youko shrugged as Hiei disappeared. Yue yelled and when Ikken looked, his purple locks had been cut to were they now only reached his ears. The rest of his hair was on the ground. Ikken laughed.

"Damn you. Damn you all!" Yue threw his wind attacks, one after the other, at them. The three dodged. Youko went left, Hiei went right, and Ikken went up; leaving golden glitter behind her as she flew. Yue growled.

"Ikken!" Youko called calmly. "Do you know how to beat him?" he asked. She half nodded.

"Yes. You could suck out his soul." she answered as he came over to her. "But only he can do that. And I could try, I mean...I saw him suck his other pupils souls out, but I might mess up and-"

"Just do it!" he commanded, running over and attacking Yue. Ikken looked at Hiei, who was helping Youko, then at Youko himself. She glared at Yue and then closed her eyes.

She concentrated and then flew forward. "Hold him for me." she ordered. Youko and Hiei blinked and looked at each other, then did as told.

Ikken placed a hand on his forehead, he began to freak out and thrash everywhere. She was mumbling under her breath and he began to glow. Soon the thrashing stopped, and when she removed her hand, a whispy spirit followed it. Youko caught it in a jar he'd found laying on the ground and sealed it.

"Hiei. You're a messenger." he joked. "Pass this on to Koenma. Tell him who he is too."

Hiei glared as he caught the jar, but left anyway. Youko turned back to Ikken.

"So...we both had real forms..." Ikken said, blushing. Youko was changing. He was becoming Kurama again. She blinked as Kurama appeared back in front of her. "Huh?"

"Sorry. Though it is true that that is my true form, my demon form, we are almost two totally different people. I can not summon that side of me on command, only when I need it or use enough energy to call upon it." he explained, sitting down. Ikken sat down next to him, her wings out behind her.

"I'm sorry, for hiding myself from you." she said sadly, placing a hand on his. He blinked.

"Sorry for what?" Ikken seemed to be amazed he hadn't heard what she'd said. "Ikken. Not everybody is a monster. Am I a monster?" she shook her head violently. "See? You may be a demon, but that doesn't make you evil."

"But...I have wings. I'm impersonating an angel." she said sadly. Kurama put a hand on her shoulder, then stood up.

"Lots of demons have wings. In fact, my best friend before I chose human life had wings." he assured her. She blinked.

"Really?" she asked, looking hopeful. Kurama nodded and she bounced up an down. "Yay. Thank You Kurama!" she kissed him on the cheek. This left both blushing and out of use of words.

"Uh..." Kurama tried, clearing his throat and trying to make the blush go away. She blinked and snapped out of it, mostly.

"We should be going." she said matter-of-factly, making herself look like the blonde haired girl again.

"Go? Go where?" Kurama asked.

**Just over 4 pgs long. Tis better, yes? Reviews please!**

**Inuc: Hopeless Idiot...**

**Jess: -ignores-**


	9. Clowns, by tATu

**Chapter 9 - Clowns, by t.A.T.u.**

**I'M SO SORRY! I Swear! I thought I'd already posted this! I so did not realize chapter 9 was missing until today! I've been upset about not being able to fulfill my promise of a GS story!**

**I also didn't respond to Painin Uranus as far as I know, so I'll do that now**

**Painin Uranus: Interesting pen name. I do enjoy writing and I scare my friends at school with how much I write on College Rule. I know that the # of reviews doesn't matter, but it helps when you know someone actually reads your story. I try...TRY not to make many mistakes when I first post, and when I realize the mistakes I think 'they know what I meant...right?' So yea...let it be and let 'em read...I'm weird.**

**Lucia : Hiei is a messenger! -smile- Also, Hiei loves ice cream! It's his favorite food! -smile- I hope you like the final and sadly, delayed chapter.**

**xXDaRkNeSsRoSeInEsSxX : Sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter. -cry- I am so stupid for not noticing the missing chapter. SORRY AGAIN!**

Ikken dragged Kurama through town. He wondered where they were going. Both were unharmed now, Kurama had a scratch and Ikken had healed completely when she was 'reborn.' She skidded to a stop outside a door. There was no building behind the door. It was a box...with a door...

"Ikken...what is this?" Kurama asked. She smiled and opened the door. He saw stairs going down in a spiral. The faintest of music could be heard.

"Welcome to Nick's Non-Alcoholic Karaoke Bar!" she smiled, pulling him in. "We got here just in time. It opened about 2-3 hours ago, so it's packed full of the under-aged and middle-aged clubbers that don't drink, but love to sing!"

Kurama wasn't sure about this. Did she want him to sing? Kurama didn't sing...he never did...ok, he did...but rarely. She pulled him down and down and down and just when he was getting dizzy, they stopped. They were standing in front of another door, the music was slightly louder now...but just slightly. She opened the door and Kurama felt himself slide backwards a step or two. The music had grown so loud that it nearly peeled his hair off at first. Now that the first shock was over, he felt normal...though winded. Ikken dragged him in.

"I thought you didn't have a social life!" Kurama yelled over the music.

"No, I hide from the world, But I do have a life. I actually used to be a regular here. Everyone knows me!" she called back to him. Kurama noticed her hair was a dark maroon color and went to her hips. He blinked, when had she changed?

"Sora!" the 'bar'-tender called. He had just given a girl a coke. He wiped his hands and waved her over. "It's been awhile. Why'd you stop coming?" he asked. The man wasn't the skinniest guy, he was big...muscular I mean. His voice was deeper than most but he had on a smile.

"Nice to see you again Tom. I've been hanging out with Ken here." she answered, patting Kurama on the back. Tom looked at him over his sunglasses.

"Your boyfriend?" he asked. Kurama blinked and looked at Ikken when he realized something...she was nodding. Wait...why did she call him Ken? Tom smiled and also pat Kurama on the back. "That's great. He looks kinda like a girl, but he seems like a good guy." He then added in a whisper in Kurama's ear. "You're the first person she's brought with her so don't do anything stupid."

"Yes sir." Kurama answered. Tom laughed and hit Kurama so hard he stepped forward. A guy was calling him over so Tom left and returned to his job. "Why'd you call me Ken?" Kurama asked when he had left. "And your name is...Sora?"

"I've been Sora whenever I come here. You never want to give away your real name. A guy in here might ask Tom for a girl's name, and boom. He follows her home. You...well, whether under false name or not, that red hair is hard to hide." she smirked.

"So...why are we here?" Kurama asked as the music died down.

"Karaoke is next. For the first few hours, it's a regular club. Then the losers." she pointed to the 5 people leaving. "Get lost and the rest of us sit down to sing and/or listen to songs. There's a piano and a guitar behind the curtain for those types of performances. No one hardly uses them though."

Kurama nodded as a guy got on stage. A voice came over the speakers around the room.

"Welcome Karaoke fans! Tonight's karaoke will proceed as always. For those of you who have come with friends, ask them what the rules are. But we're running 10 minutes late so I'll just cut to the chase." the male voice said.

"Nick is always running late. He seems to sleep during the day and doesn't wake up until an hour from the show." Ikken explained. Kurama nodded, wondering how she figured that out.

"Our first singer tonight is Jerry. He's going to be singing a song from France. Allouette!" Nick announced. The guy, Jerry, began to sing. He had a rich french accent as he sang. He was kinda cute, and with the accent, had many girls swooning. Kurama sweat-dropped.

The song was coming to a close when he noticed Ikken wasn't there. He looked around and saw a guy checking him out. Kurama hoped the guy thought he was a girl and wasn't gay. He nearly jumped when Nick came on the speakers again.

"I've just learned something! Any of you who were here before Christmas, or came once in the past two years know her. Sora, better known here as 'Minnie Mouse' is here tonight!" he cried. Everyone broke into a fervor of whispering. Kurama blinked at the nickname. Minnie Mouse?

Ikken came walking back. Kurama blinked and gave her a questioning look. She shrugged and whispered to him.

"I'm a really good singer. I've told him that I'll sing 'my song' after 3 more people sing. He should be announcing that fact right about-"

"Our little star will be singing her special song after three more people sing. So come on people! Let's get to singing!" Ikken smirked as three people jumped up and ran over to Nick's booth. "Alright! First up is Marry from the U.S.A."

Kurama listened to each song, they were all fairly talented. He wondered how great of a singer Ikken was. How great could a person be if they shut themselves up in their house unless they were working or here? He supposed she was pretty good...he hoped she was better than good.

"Sora! You're up!" Nick called over the speakers as the last guy, Mark, left.

Ikken stepped on stage. The crowd, or everyone that had been there to hear her sing, broke into applause. They died down as the 'dramatic' music played. Then her music started. It was for Clowns, by t.A.T.u..

Kurama listened as she began to sing.

"Can you see me now?  
Can you see me now?  
(Can you see)"

He blinked. The song she was always singing?

"All this weeping in the air  
Who can tell where it will fall?  
Through floating forests in the air  
'Cross the rolling open sea

Blow a kiss, I run through air  
Leave the past, find nowhere  
Floating forests in the air  
Clowns all around you

Clowns that only let you know  
Where you let your senses go  
Clowns all around you  
It's a cross I need to bear

All this black and cruel despair  
This is an emergency  
Don't you hide your eyes from me  
Open them and see me now"

She was really good. Kurama was sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Can you see me now?  
Can you see?

Can you see me now?  
Can you see?  
Can you see?  
Can you see?  
Can you see?  
Can you see me now?

Can you see?  
Can you see?  
Can you see me now?"

Her ability to change the pitch of her voice so quickly caught Kurama by surprise and a few of the audience members murmured.

"Can you see me now?  
Floating forests in the air  
Clowns all around you  
Can you see  
Can you see  
Can you see  
Can you see me now?"

Kurama over heard someone talking.

"Doesn't it seem different this time?" one lady asked.

"Yea. Like she's actually singing _to someone_ this time." her friend answered. He blinked, then smiled.

"See me here in the air  
Not holding on to anywhere  
But holding on so beware  
I have secrets I won't share

See me here wishing you  
If I then deny I do  
Contemplate or wish away  
If I ask you not to stay

Clowns that only let you know  
Where you let your senses go  
Clowns all around you  
It's a cross I need to bear

All this black and cruel despair  
This is an emergency  
Don't you hide your eyes from me  
Open them and see me now"

Kurama was reminded of all the time he'd spent with her. He smiled.

"Can you see me now?  
Can you see me now?  
Can you see?  
Can you see?

Can you see?

Can you see?  
Can you see me now?

Clowns all around you  
Can you see me now?  
Can you see?"

As she sang the last few, Kurama stood up and walked towards the stage.

"Can you see me now?  
Can you see?  
Can you see?"

He was standing next to the stage. Ikken jumped and pulled him up with her. He became instantly embarrassed and began blushing. She sang the last line.

"Can you see me now?"

Everybody clapped. Kurama looked at the floor. Ikken suddenly hugged him and the whole room was filled with 'awwww' as they clapped. Kurama began to walk offstage, but Ikken beat him to it. She dragged him offstage and over to Nick. While everyone conversed among themselves, she introduced Kurama.

"Hey Nick. This is Ken." she introduced. Nick reached out of his box-like room and shook Kurama's hand.

"Nice to meet you Ken. My name is Nick. Well, actually it's Mike, but we all have secret names here huh?" he smirked. "I bet you didn't know about secret names, huh? Let me guess, Ikken here gave you a false name right?"

"I-Ikken?" Kurama looked at her. She shrugged.

"I ran into him on my first time here. He told me about the name thing when I gave him my real name." Nick...Mike...whatever, looked at her. "Oh fine. His real name is Kurama."

"Kurama huh? Nice name. Interesting. So, how long have you two been going out?" he asked with a smirk. Kurama didn't know how to answer but Ikken seemed to have the answer again this time.

"Well, I've been hanging out with him since before Christmas."

"When you stopped coming here." Nick corrected.

"But we've only been officially going out for a few days." she smiled. Nick gave them a thumbs up.

"Great job. Now, you'd best get out of here. Your 'fans' will be going to find you soon." he warned, nodding towards a group of people looking around. Ikken nodded and began to pull Kurama out of the room. Just as she opened the door, Tom yelled goodbye and all the people in the room turned to the door.

"There she is!" a girl screamed.

"Run!" Ikken pulled Kurama out of there as fast as lightning.

"So..." Ikken was walking a bit in front of Kurama. It was so late at night that nothing at all seemed to be moving. They'd lost the fans just after leaving the club. She paused as the wind blew. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yea. You're a great singer." Kurama complemented.

"I wouldn't have gone back...but I had some actual reason to sing that song again...so I did." she muttered. She turned around and suddenly gave Kurama a big hug. He blinked, then hugged her back.

"You're the most amazing person I've ever met." Kurama said softly. Ikken smiled.

"Right back at you." she hugged him tighter. The wind blew softly, but they ignored it.

They may have kept secrets from each other. But they didn't care. Right now is all that mattered. In this moment, time had stopped...just for them.

**There's something I didn't notice until after I'd written this. I used Ken and Sora from Kaleido Star as their other names. And Tom acts like Jerry the Policeman. -sweat-drop- Oh Well. I don't own that either.** **I hope you liked my story. It's over...sadly...**

**Inuc: Thanks Yous.**

**Jess: Right.**

**Chp 1**

**AekaAnime**

**Just Call Me Blue**

**Heaven Sword**

**Chp 2**

**NeoLannia**

**Just Call Me Blue**

**Lucia**

**Sonya-White-Angel**

**Chp 3**

**NeoLannia**

**Lucia**

**Chp 4**

**Lucia**

**NeoLannia**

**Chp 5**

**NONE**

**Chp 6**

**Lucia**

**Sonya-White-Angel**

**Chp 7**

**Larka White Wolf**

**Sonya-White-Angel**

**xXDaRkNeSsRoSeInEsSxX**

**Painin Uranus**

**Chp 8**

**xXDaRkNeSsRoSeInEsSxX**

**Lucia**

**Chp 9**

**All of you that review, THANKS!**

**Jess: Ok...I'm going to go sit in a corner until an idea comes to me for a story...**

**Inuc: Whatever. I'll be in...Central.**

**Jess: -smirks- I bet you're glad no one knows what that means.**

**Inuc: -glares and leaves-**

**Jess: Bye! Thank You! I Hope You Enjoyed My Fic! -bing- Oh! Idea! I'm Off! Bye!**


End file.
